Little Sun
by SheerSaxifrage
Summary: A haunted woman comes across humanity's last hope. (A mostly genderswap AU. TW for suicidal ideation, sexual abuse, and alcoholism).
1. Chapter 1

_A boy holds a pillow over his sister's face._

_She fidgets for air beneath him, as hard as an eight-month-old can. The radio blares in the next room, a smashup of 70s hits and Barbara Armstrong is dancing, dancing, shaking her ass to the beat. He can feel her every time she jumps; the rock of her hips is seared into his muscle memory. He imagines her in her neon green spandex, menthol cigarette dangling from her spit-crusted lips and a 12-ounce bottle of vodka tight in her grasp. He knows she'll wind up spilling some in the commotion, and she'll drag him by the hair to lick it off the floor like a dog. Get him liquored up before bedtime. Brad hopes Lisa will be dead by then._

_He smashes the pillow over her nose and mouth, leaning in with all his body weight. He won't know peace until she's gone, and it's by the grace of Barb looking over her shoulder that Lisa lives. She slams Brad's face into the wall and drags him into the bedroom they share, where she whips him bloody with one of Marty's belts. It ends with her wrapping it around his throat until his face turns blue—so he could feel what Lisa felt. Screams fall to silence fall to the floor beds creaking, but Lisa's asleep by then, the pillow she had to push away herself an instrument of comfort again._

* * *

That was how Lisa imagined it happened.

When her brain took to moving on its own, it was like she was frozen there in real time. Even though her brother tried to kill her then—and many times after that—it still ate her to know he was torn to ribbons just for doing the right thing. Barbara knew what she was. She should have let Brad be the hero he was supposed to be.

_Kill yourself. Kill yourself. Kill yourself. _

On the day her life changed Lisa staggered through the dark streets of Olathe, holding on to the side of badland rock. She undid one of the ropes left to climb the mountains and began to refashion it into a noose.

Memories continued to flash in her mind. _A picture of Marty Armstrong in his nicest suit, Barb running her crooked fingers over it and swooning over how sexy her man was. She insists Brad's growing up to look just like him, but Lisa doesn't agree. While Marty's eyes are perky and alert, Brad's are overcast by thick brows and dark circles. No one dead or alive can match her brother's heaviness._

Or: _Brad begging Barbara to let him take karate lessons. It's the closest he ever gets to a tantrum, because _why_ does she need him home right after school? She'll still have him all night, why can't he have this one thing? She slaps him around for his squawking, and orders Lisa to clean him up. He shoves her away when she gets too close._

Or: _Lisa, feeling brave as an Armstrong, standing up to Christine Colombo and her gang when they take Ren, Kitty and Chie to task over the ball they stole. Lisa gets her head handed to her, but that's okay. Her girlfriends are worth it._

She stopped, tipping forward until her forehead touched the ground. What would her friends do without her? The four of them vowed to face the darkness together. Chie even called her their leader, once.

_They don't know what you really are._

Lisa gritted her teeth, threading her fingers through the rope. _Barbara heaves her sin in the back of Ms. Angonelli's truck, on all fours like a bitch in heat. The nasty freak slithers out her slit and falls on the old interior with a soft thud, slimy with cunt juice. Proof of a crime. A baby crying._

_And crying. And _crying. And crying. Lisa picked her head up.

* * *

The world changed when she was 17. In an instant, everything fell to darkness. The seasons froze at autumn, caught in the agony of dying without any hope of release. Their vegetation withered to rot. The sun never rose again. Barb used to joke that the world would be better without men, the perverted bastards; but The Fall caused every male—whether he was in utero or on his death bed—to disappear. No men meant no children. No children meant no future.

"Hey there, sonny," Lisa cooed, rocking the baby in her arms.

He was naked and shivering, the poor thing. She tucked him beneath her white poncho, bringing his head up to rest on her chest. His crying calmed to watery hiccups

She guessed he was a few weeks old. Practically a newborn, and already alone in the world. Hugging him close to her body, she sprinted in the direction of home, rope cast off behind her.

* * *

"Lisa… what is that?"

Ren's big blue eyes looked ready to pop out of her skull. She, Kitty and Chie were all seated around their dining room table, downing shots of moonshine to numb the hunger. Lisa didn't answer right away. She took hold of the bottle and chugged once, twice, three times until her throat couldn't handle any more. A couple of drops fell on the boy; he cooed softly. "Holy shit. Is that a baby?" Chie asked.

She cradled the back of his soft head. "Yeah…"

Kitty fell back in her seat, the wooden chair whining under her weight. "Woah… a _baby?! _Where did you find that?"

Lisa shrugged, holding the boy closer. "I found it lying on the ground."

"No mother?"

"Not that I could see."

"Well, you know what this means, don't you?" Chie poured herself another drink. "If someone gave birth, that means there must be a _man_ out there! This means there's hope for humanity!"

Kitty shot up out of her seat. "Woah, this is incredible!"

Ren fiddled with her shot glass. "Do you think he's handsome?"

"Hell yeah! Bet he's hung like a horse, too." Kitty cackled, swinging her arm between her legs.

"C'mon, this is serious!" Ren turned to Lisa. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Lisa suddenly didn't feel like talking anymore. Part of her regretted even coming home. She mumbled her response.

"Huh?"

"_Boy._ Boy. It's a goddamn boy."

All four women fell silent. Crows squawked in the distance. The boy drooled onto Lisa's chest.

"… we have to tell someone," Ren said. Her eyes lit up. "Oh! We could tell Reina! If we came to her with this, we'd be set for life! Everything we could ever want or need!"

Chie nodded. "That's not a bad idea. Reina's army would be better equipped for something like this."

"No."

"Wait, what do you mean 'no'?" Kitty sneered."Lisa?!"

She turned her back to the three of them. "No one can know I have him. He's a baby now, but he's going to grow up someday. The things he'll be forced to do… that isn't any sort of life for my boy."

Kitty groaned. "Jesus Christ, Lisa. It's been 5 years, but I _know_ you haven't forgotten how men work. Getting to fuck all day long is like, every guy's wet dream."

_Creaking floor boards ticking clock dance dance dance slick wet slime ugh mmmhm—_

"Fuck you! We're not giving him to Reina, or anyone else!"

"So what, you want to keep him a secret your whole life? You have any idea what would happen if anyone found out?!"

"Let them try. This boy is going to stay right here with me."

"Lisa—" Ren began.

"I don't care if you want to help me or not; I'm not giving him up. This is my one chance to make things right." Lisa cradled the baby in her arms. He smiled back at her, wide and unrestricted. "Don't worry, sonny boy. I'll never let anyone hurt you."

* * *

_Sonny. Yes, Sonny. It's the best I could come up with… well, it's simple. You're my son, and the one bright spot in my life. Lisa and Sonny. Sounds good to me._


	2. Chapter 2

_A woman sells her daughter to a homeless janitor. Her compensation: 6 dollars and fix._

_ Lisa is there, but distant. She's 11 and doesn't quite get she's looking at, but she knows something's wrong. Behind her, Ms. Angonelli staggers into their bathroom with her bag of white powder and Barb, seated in front of the TV but not watching it, hums a little song and peddles her feet in time with it. _

_ The janitor grabs Kitty's wrist and pulls her outside. Lisa wants to follow her but her feet won't move. "Next time you wanna talk shit about me, remember this!" Barbara says, tone light and teasing. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm no dust head. Talk to me about how we live in a fuckin' car. Tell me the last time I sold your gash. Stupid bitch. Maybe I should!"_

_ Brad walks in to her cackling. His heavy stare scans the room, across broken beer bottles and tiny zip bags and dirty panties on the floor and dishes sky high and the backdoor wide open and the bushes shaking, little voice sobbing. He glare hits Lisa like a brick. "Who's here?"_

_ Barbara smirks, shifting her legs. "Just Rita and her daughter."_

_ "Where are they?"_

_ "Rita's taking a dump. Kit's out rolling in the grass."_

_ "Rolling in the grass, huh?" Brad goes out into the yard. On the TV there's some infomercial selling pretty necklaces. Lisa wishes she could have one. _

_ Brad is yelling. A loud thump. Kitty screams. Brad and the janitor crash into the house, fists flying—_

* * *

_KILL YOURSELF._

Lisa stood in the depleted supermarket, absently holding a box of canned vegetables. A broken overhead light swung precariously above her. Rats roamed freely, scurrying around her and over her toes. A fight broke out outside. Still, she didn't move. When the voice came on, it was all she could do to resist it's call.

_She and Brad are at the corner deli. The guy behind the counter knows Barb, so he sells Brad her liquor even though he's only 12. He picks up a pack of cigarettes too, and plays her numbers, and a couple of scratch offs. Lisa eyes the chocolate. She knows Brad doesn't have the money and will bop her on the head if she asks, but for a second she imagines she has an older brother like Chie's, or a father like Ren's. People in her life that might indulge her and place her over their addictions._

Lisa held the box tight to her chest. Sonny needed her more than she needed to destroy herself. The voice faded, and she scurried off to the back exit.

* * *

Sonny grew up, in Ren's words, "ultra-fast".

The women build a room for him underground. For his own safety, Lisa kept him down there 23 hours a day. The last hour he could come upstairs—but heaven help him if he tried to move past the front door.

He first tried when he was 5, and didn't know any better. Lisa yanked him by the back of his shirt, barking at him to _stay away from that goddamned thing, _and took him back downstairs when he refused to stop crying.

He tried again when he was 8 and had enough presence of mind to be sneaky about it. He waited till she was good and drunk at the kitchen table to tip-toe past her. He even managed to get the door open—but good-grief-and-alas, Kitty and Ren were there playing craps. They scooped him up and ran him back to his room before Lisa could get her hands on him. Drunk enough to piss herself, she was more sad than angry. 8 years old, and it was the first time her boy ever saw the sky.

Sonny took his first step outdoors at 12. He waited until he thought Lisa was passed out and everyone else was out of the house—but Lisa only had her eyes closed, and she _felt _him leave. She rose like a bad dream and dragged him back screaming. It was the only time Lisa ever laid hands on him, taking a page from Barb's book and stomping him good.

He cried for the rest of the day, raw like someone he loved died. She drank herself into a stupor and even then, in the quiet dark of her own muted consciousness, she could hear his sobs.

_ Lisa can leave the house. She can hang out with the girls in the vacant lot behind Eel's Pub, she can shoplift from the deli where Chie's mother got shot, she can prowl rooftops and alleyways with the best of them. She can leave one afternoon and come back the next day and Barb won't say a word, won't even acknowledge she was gone._

_ But Brad can't. Barb keeps him locked up in her windowless room, door slammed shut until she'd ready for him. Lisa catches a glimpse of him in there once, and sees exactly how Barb manages it, Brad on the bed arms spread wide—_

The voice screamed _SHAME ON YOU KILL YOURSELF _over and over and _over_ and showed no sign of fading until Lisa, trembling hard, sewed up a mask for Sonny to wear.

Two days later, Lisa held the door open for him herself. Sonny stepped out into the moonlight, and even behind the mask Lisa could see he was smiling hard. Some part of her—the soft side crushed by the wreckage of her life—swelled with joy. If it were up to her, Sonny would have everything he wanted. She was proud to be the one who put that smile on his face, wished she always could.

If only the world were safe for little boys.

* * *

"Hey girl! Think you can help me out?"

Lisa hadn't meant to go this way. If she had to guess, she would say it was the balloon that attracted her. It was tied to a rock stationed at the edge of a cliff, and Lisa had to wonder—_who the _fuck_ put that there? _But there was a woman up in a tree just a few feet away from it, presumably there to get away from the small dog barking up after her.

When Lisa didn't reply, the woman kept going. "This wild beast won't leave me alone! I'd slay it myself, but I pulled my groin climbing this tree. So give me a hand, won't you?"

Lisa could admit that the woman was cute (in an unkempt, homeless sort of way)—so on a whim, she decided to help. The dog was small, and all it took was Lisa picking it up and tossing it off the edge like a sack of rotten vegetables. (She tried to ignore how it cried all the way down and then just _stopped—)_

"Wow, you saved me! You're pretty tough for a whacked-out looking drunk chick." The lady smirked. "You seem like you can handle a lot of pain. Like, maybe you could handle some sort of pain-related activity—"

"Sorry, I'm not into S&M."

"… what? No, that's no what I—"

"I don't have time for this." Lisa turned to leave.

"Wait, don't go!" the woman ran ahead of Lisa and turned to face her again. "My name is Terri Hintz! I've been traveling these lands for a while, leaving helpful hints around. Speaking of which!" She took out a sticky note pad from her pocket and began to scribble something down. "Beware… of… dog." She triumphantly slapped it on to the side of a rock.

"What do you want from me?"

"Hey, don't be like that! You should be happy you met me! I'm pretty famous… got a lot of fans. I'm sort of a big deal." Terri put her hands on her hips, eyeing Lisa up and down. "You look pretty lonely… well, I guess I have no choice." Terri linked arms with Lisa. "Since I'm such a nice person, I'll just keep you company."

"… fine. Suit yourself."

"Hooray!"

* * *

_Lisa, I'll be honest. Meeting you was the best day of my life… even before the world changed. Maybe you don't feel the same way, but you're my best friend, girl. I'll be with you till the end. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Lisa loses her virginity at Finnley's Carnival._

_She's 12 (or as she calls it, 'almost 13'). A guy from the gang Kitty likes to run with offers to win her a giant stuffed animal from the shooting table. His aim is bad so he doesn't nail the shot, but that's okay. It's the very first time someone, __anyone__, has done something with only her in mind._

_So she stays with the group even after the park shuts down, laying low to dodge the security guards. The guy—Snake is what everyone calls him—separates her from Kitty, and leads her past the closed concession stands, past haunted house, past the mini Ferris wheel, past the boat rides. He brings her to the house of mirrors, and asks if she wants to go inside. Eager to please, Lisa says __yes._

_To say she regrets it is an understatement. It isn't so much that she kicks and screams, and more that what's happening doesn't fully sink in until he's on his third stroke. She tries to squirm away but he keeps going. Something about his breath and pinprick pupils and the way he wiggles his hips reminds her of Barb, and deep down she knows not to push him. Not to fight. Enduring is easier and less hazardous to her health._

_When he's all done he rolls off her and pulls up his pants. Lisa sits up, her skirt falling back down to cover her. All around are mirrors that make her look too-fat too-skinny too-ugly too-much, and for a second she forgets what she really looks like. Maybe she really is as grotesque as these mirrors make her out to be._

_They reunite with everyone else 10 minutes later. Snake and the boys pound a couple of 40s, and then they all hop into his van for a joy ride. He insists Lisa sit up front with him. She laughs and plays along, but there is a part of Lisa, small but not insignificant, that hopes they careen off the side of a cliff._

* * *

"—and that's how my daddy lost his legs to a wood-chipper."

Lisa grunted in response, some non-committal noise to reassure Terri that yes, she had been listening. In truth, she wanted to. If the choice was between flashbacks of her assault and some drifter's incessant rambling, she would choose the drifter every time. There was just something about self-destruction her brain latched onto like a lock with no key.

Terri continued on until they rounded the corner to Lisa's house. She'd been in the middle of a sentence when suddenly the word died in her throat, suppressing a poorly-concealed whimper. Lisa picked her head up—

Chie was out on her favorite lawn chair, arms clutching her stomach to stop the blood pumping out of her wound. Lisa froze, every thought or flashback wilting to silence. "What the hell—"

_"He's gone!"_ Chie cried. "They took him, Lisa!"

She ran into the house. Everything was in disarray. Someone had violently knocked down the bookcase they used to hide the basement door. Lisa sprinted down, hoping beyond hope that Chie was mistaken, that Sonny was fine down there drawing or playing with his toy cars. Safe and hidden, like she meant him to be.

But what she found was an empty room torn to pieces, ransacked like he tried to hide and they had to drag him out. His toys were smashed. His little drawings (Sonny and her, Sonny and his aunties, Sonny and the moon) had been torn from the walls. His mattress was flipped over, his dresser askew.

They—whoever they were—hadn't just taken Sonny. They terrorized him, beat him bloody, and now they were going to—

Lisa flew back out of the house, ready to contend with heaven and earth to get her son back. She looked over and saw Chie slumped over in her chair. Terri was down on her haunches in front of her, holding her hand. Her cheeks were streaked with tears.

"I'm sorry," Terri whimpered. Lisa wasn't sure if Terri was speaking to her or Chie.

She checked her friend's pulse. Chie was gone.

"I'm so sorry," Terri repeated.

There was no time to think about _their girlhood on the rough-and-tumble, shoplifting running-wild huffing-paint spin-the-bottle don't-talk-about-home friends-forever—_

"I gotta go."

Terri nodded, wiping her snot on her sleeve. "Right, of course, we gotta go—"

"Alone. I'm going alone."

Lisa started off in the direction of the nearest mountain slope. If she was lucky, she could make it to town before the shops closed. She had some money on her, she had to buy—

She could hear someone shuffling behind her. Lisa turned on her heel and shoved Terri. "What part of 'alone' did you not understand, you stupid bitch?!"

If Terri was offended, she didn't let it show. "C'mon girl, this looks serious! You can't do this alone."

"Oh, _really."_ Lisa crossed her arms. "And what do you think is going on?"

"I asked your friend," Terri replied smoothly. "She told me 'those thugs' took your son away."

"'Son'?" Lisa balked. "Don't you know where we are? It's been 17 years, not a man in sight. You're really gonna take a dying person's word over mine?"

Terri looked down at her impassively. "Who has the most motive to lie, girl?"

* * *

So, Terri tagged along. For 'protection'.

There was a part of Lisa that didn't trust Terri's motives and figured she never would, but if Terri wasn't going to buy her fibs then it was better to keep her around. It beat having someone out there exposing her secrets via sticky note.

"CAUTION… be wary… of Terri's… good looks! They are… _dangerously_… appealing!" Terri chuckled to herself as she scribbled on her pad. "Always… looking out! Love… Terri's… Berries."

"'Terri's Berries'?" Lisa repeated. "The fuck?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Is the lying liar who lies talking to me?" She stuck her note on the wall of the cave they were in. "Lisa-pizza needs to say _sorry_ before she can criticize my pseudonyms."

"I ain't doing shit."

"Of course not. You're just like daddy, refusing to take responsibility for anything."

"I'm not your motherfucking father."

Terri snorted. "Neither was daddy."

"Jesus Christ."

A few moments later, Terri was back at it. "If you find… a campfire… REST … but be extra… careful! You're vulnerable… when you sleep... anything… can happen… hugs and kisses! … Terri Pie."

"Do you _have_ to narrate?"

"Yes." A pause. "I thought you liked my hints?"

"That last one you wrote wasn't so bad." Lisa snatched the note before Terri could post it. "So there are campsites set up around here?"

"Yes. A lot of traveling parties leave their firewood around for others to use. Beats lugging it around, I guess."

"How do you know these things?"

"I've been around."

_"I've been around,"_ _Kitty whispers seductively, grinding her hips against their rookie arresting officer. "Why don't you let me and my friends go? I'll do whatever you want, baby. Let me take you to the moon."_

"Lisa!" Terri roughly poked Lisa's shoulder with the end of her marker. "What's wrong? You stopped walking, did you see something?"

"No," Lisa replied slowly, flashback lifting. She continued forward. "It's nothing."

"Okay, if you say so!"

* * *

_Cheyanne "Chie" Gaywood_

_1979 – 2013_

_The one who told the whole truth._


	4. Chapter 4

_It's August of 1992, and she and Barbara are in the back of Ms. Angonelli's truck._

_ Ms. Angonelli's smoking a damp cigarette. Lisa can see the tobacco through its translucent paper as it sluggishly burns down, the fiery butt glowing faintly. Barbara tells her she might want to relight it but Ms. Angonelli ignores her, instead taking another pull, cigarette coming alive. When she exhales the truck is filled with the usual smell, but also something else, something Lisa can't place. The closest comparison she can come up with is permanent marker. She imagines this is where Kitty gets her predilection for huffing._

_ Barbara is sitting next to her, hands resting on her clasped knees. Her silence is the most unusual thing about all of this. That morning she only drank enough to keep her regular, and for a moment Lisa wonders if this is her mother's true personality, stripped of all its armor. She almost wishes Brad were there to see it, but he—_

_ Lisa scratch's her arm, again and again and again, rough nails dragging red streaks. Beads of red blister onto the surface but she keeps going, the pain the one thing abating memories of her brother. She doesn't get far before Barbara suddenly places her hand on top of Lisa's, a silent command. _Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.

_ Brad's swollen face fills her mind._

_ Ms. Angonelli clears her throat. "I'm sorry about what happened—" _

_ "Shut up!" Barbara spits. _

_ Ms. Angonelli sighs, finishing the last of her cigarette. "Alright alright alright alright, let's get this over with. I'm sorry about what happened, but that's not why you ladies are here. No no, it's the other thing. Go lay down over there, girl. On your back. Go lay on your back like a good little girl."_

_ Barb scoffs. "Don't say it like that. That's how she got this way in the first place."_

_ Lisa crawls to the rear of the van where Kitty's sheets are still crumbled from the night before. She spreads her legs, knowing Ms. Angonelli will need access. _

_ "A coat hanger, Rita? Are you serious?" _

_ "Yeah. Don't worry, I disinfected it. See?" Lisa can here liquid swishing around in a bottle. _

_ Lisa's determined to be brave, but what happened over the next half hour breaks her of that. The rough prodding sets fire to her insides, the pain blooming like a flower until there is no part of her that isn't in agony. It feels like her organs want to spill out of her gash. There's a deluge of blood and clunks and Lisa cries for help, for _someone_ to make it stop—_

* * *

"I'm not dead, you inbred-looking bitch! Come here so I can kick your ass!"

Lisa turned to face whoever was speaking. A few feet away sat a woman who might as well be dead, bloody and broken as she was.

Terri grabbed Lisa's arm. "Don't do it, Leese. It's not worth it."

"Not worth it?" Lisa pointed at the mystery woman. "You mean you _don't_ want to put this poor, injured woman out of her misery? Because only someone with a death wish would talk to me like that."

Terri's eyebrows knit together. "It might be a trap."

"I'll take my chances." Lisa scanned the cave. There were no impromptu weapons she could use. She flexed her fingers, figuring her hands would have to be enough.

The woman chucked. "Yeah, you're a bad bitch aren't you? Fell right into my trap!"

Lisa grabbed the woman by the throat, and squeezed hard until the life lifted from her eyes.

* * *

"Alright gang, I'll go and block the entrance. You two go search around in case they've already been through here. Remember, if you find the boy, I get first ride."

"You got it."

"Sugar Baby Grifters, let's gooooo!"

Terri scribbled something down on her notepad, this time without the narration. She wordlessly stuck it on the wall, and out of curiosity Lisa glanced at it.

_You heard it here first: the Sugar Baby Grifters can get bent! - Terri Bean. _

Lisa suppressed a chuckle, but it became less funny when they made it to the mouth of the cave and saw the head of the Sugar Babies actually stationed there. She wielded a bat, and her wide eyes were aimed directly at them.

"Move," Lisa told her.

"'Move'?" she sneered. "Do you think this is a joke? Do you think you can handle what's going on out there? Stupid idiot, I'll give you a—!"

"The Sugar Baby Grifters are a bunch of weeeeeenies!"

"What?" the gang member honed in on Terri, charging towards her. "I'll show you!"

Diversion was the oldest trick in the book, one a real thug would've immediately seen through. Lisa wondered what this woman was before The Fall. An accountant? A business consultant? Editor for some local newspaper? She could hear it in her diction, the way she carried herself. She wasn't cut out for this sort of life. Under any other circumstance Lisa would've ignored such an obvious pretender—but she was after Sonny.

_Kill yourself? No. _Kill her.

Lisa grabbed the woman by her hair and swung down, dragging her to the floor. The bat flew out of her hand. She straddled the Sugar Baby's back and, hand still buried in her hair, slammed her head against the ground over and over and over and over again until Lisa was sure she'd drowned in her own blood.

"Woah ," Terri giggled. "You sure are strong!"

"Yeah, well." Lisa turned away, hoping Terri hadn't seen her flushed cheeks. "Grab that bat, won't you?"

* * *

In the cave they found: a bat, a bottle of cologne, a tube of lipstick, a wad of cash, and several small blue pills.

"You ever done Joy before?" Terri asked.

"No." Though Lisa had heard of it. It began popping up around the same time she found Sonny. It was highly addictive and hard to come by. Perhaps if she didn't have a boy to look after, she would tried it and fallen into the trap. But Sonny was more important (and she still had her moonshine, after all).

"Me neither. Gotta stay sharp if my hints are gonna save the world!"

"Well if anybody can save the world, it's you."

"Thanks! Hey, what's that over there?"

Lisa looked to where Terri was pointing. "That's…" she took another step closer, "a football helmet?"

Terri tried it on. "Look, it fits!"

She smiled. "It looks good on you. Maybe you should just keep it."

"You think so? Oh boy Lisa, that's—"

Suddenly there was a bright light behind them, the revving of an engine. Neither had any chance to react before the car mowed them down.

* * *

"_You're not as hard as you think you are. A real thug would've sold that drifter in a heartbeat."_


	5. Chapter 5

_DETECTIVE KILLED, TWO OTHERS INJURED IN OLATHE ROBBERY_

_OLATHE, CO. – Police are still searching for suspects in the murder of police detective Aaron Colombo. Colombo and two unidentified store clerks were shot multiple times during the robbery of a downtown Olathe pharmacy. An estimated $1,500 worth of property was stolen. Suspects were last seen fleeing the scene._

_ Witnesses describe the first suspect as a balding man possibly in his 40's wearing a white sleeveless undershirt and red boxer briefs. Both legs appeared to have been amputated mid-thigh, and he relied on a wheelchair for mobility._

_ The second suspect is described as a slim young woman in her late teens to early 20's, about 6'1, wearing a wrinkled red cocktail dress and worn leopard print jacket._

_ Both suspects are assumed to be armed. Please submit any tips to the Olathe Police Department._

* * *

"They say time is a great teacher. Sadly, it kills all it's pupils."

Lisa struggled to open her eyes. She was surrounded by women dressed in studs and leather. Someone approached from the ledge of a small cliff.

"Howdy, motherfucker."

Lisa knew that voice. "Christine….?"

The woman threw her head back and laughed. "The one, the only. It seems our paths have crossed yet again. Do you remember our times spent as wee lassies? I do, fondly. My heart just tumbles with joy thinking about it! Like your head in a dryer."

Lisa didn't want to think about her time as a 'wee lass' or about being decapitated or whatever else nonsense Christine was going on about. "Where's Terri?" she growled.

"Patience is a virtue, my friend. Normally you'd be dead and stripped of your wares by now. But, I like you Lisa. I've always liked you. Let's have some fun! Bring her out, ladies!"

One of Christine's lackies opened the back of their truck, dragging out Terri's limp body. Christine chuckled. "Don't look so disgruntled! Your comrade is very much alive… for now. I shalt give you a choice: your friend's life, or… _all_ your belongings! The decision rests with you. Which will it be, Lisa?"

_"Which will it be, Barb?"_

_ Her mom has to decide which she's going to sell: the oven or the fridge. She's behind on the bills and if they don't pay up soon the water will be cut. Barbara doesn't respond, eyes glazed over. The men take the oven for $200, and every last cent goes up Barbara's nose._

"Come now, friend. We don't have all day."

A bat. A bottle of cologne. A tube of lipstick. A wad of cash. Joy. Lisa's plan was to barter them all for a weapon in town. She knew what she wanted, had seen it a few weeks back glinting menacingly in the moonlight. With _that_ weapon by her side Lisa knew she could slash up a million women and win.

Against that guarantee was Terri, the drifter she'd known for less than a day. Terri, who was afraid of dogs and blood and silence. Terri, who couldn't hold her own in a fight and probably never would. Terri, whose only observable skill was distracting people. The same woman who dedicated herself to posting 'hints' around for everyone to see. The one who refused to leave her side. Who made her smile for the first time in months.

She blurted out her answer before she could stop herself. "Terri. I choose Terri."

Christine's lip curled. "I always knew you weren't a player. Alright, strip 'em down. I hear tale of a young stallion on the loose… I tremble with excitement just thinking about it!" Christine slid into the driver's seat and revved up her engine. "Off we go!"

* * *

Terri woke up half an hour later.

"Ugh… my head." She stretched, slowly turning to Lisa. "Cheesus, you look like hell! Are you okay? What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Lisa didn't wait for her to respond. "We got hit by a truck. Just some old friends… everything's okay now."

She frowned. "Wow, your 'friends' hit us with a truck? You'll just hang out with anybody, huh?"

"And why do you think you're still here?!" Lisa snapped.

Terri rose to her feet. She was all bones and legs, and Lisa hated how her towering height allowed the other woman to literally look down on her. Her expression was placid but Lisa could sense something darker churning underneath. It was between her arched eyebrows, stuffed in her clenched fists, trapped behind her decaying teeth. Lisa took her fighting stance. "Drop the look, bitch! You saw me gut two shitheads on our way here, don't think I won't make you the third!"

Terri sighed, unperturbed. She patted her pockets and glanced around. "Our stuff is gone. Your friends took everything, didn't they?"

"And what of it?"

"Well… you deserve better friends." Terri winked. "Drop your fists, girl. I like hanging out with you. This is the most excitement I've had in years!"

* * *

They came across a small campsite on their way to town. The woman it belonged to offered them soup and a place to sleep. Nestled together in her camping tent, Lisa told Terri the next phase of her plan.

"There's no way we can hack it in Olathe unless I get it. Was gonna trade the crap we found in that cave for it, but that's out now. I gotta rob the place."

"We."

"Fuck off, I don't want you anywhere near this. You'll only fuck it up and get us both killed."

"Yeah, like I _totally_ fucked up in your fight against that Sugar Baby. You remember she had a bat, right? She would've pounded you to pieces if I wasn't there!"

"That idiot was brand new. Anybody else would've seen right through that."

"There's more than one way to get someone to look at the sky so they'll walk off a cliff." Terri rolled her eyes. "Besides, you're kidding yourself if you don't think that shopkeeper's armed to the teeth. No way can you go in there with bare hands."

"Have you ever even done this before?"

"How else do you think me and daddy survived after the woodchipper incident?" Terri grinned. "You won't be the first person who's tried to rob that store, but listen to me and you'll _definitely_ be the last."


End file.
